On October 23, 2077, the world as known to the average American ends abruptly with the onset of the Great War, transforming the United States into a nuclear wasteland and setting the stage for the Fallout series of role-playing video games by Interplay Entertainment and Bethesda Softworks. Set in a post-apocalyptic future yet steeped in 1950s American ideals, Fallout merges historical fiction with sci-fi fantasy, exploring themes of American exceptionalism, hyper-Capitalism, anti-communism, nuclear anxiety, and militarism through exaggerated symbols of Americana. This thesis posits that Fallout serves as a critique of Cold War America's paradoxical utopianism and paranoia, highlighting the destructive consequences of unchecked militarism and technological pursuits. By treating Fallout as a kind of museum, this thesis explores how the game's layered storytelling methods, akin to museum exhibits, critique Americentric sensibilities and the ideological underpinnings of the Atomic Age. Through detailed case studies of in-game museums and exhibitions, this paper examines how Fallout developers employ historical and cultural elements to offer a satirical reflection on mid-20th century America, questioning the uncritical acceptance of progress and the myths of American exceptionalism.
","abstract_html":"<p>On October 23, 2077, the world as known to the average American ends abruptly with the onset of the Great War, transforming the United States into a nuclear wasteland and setting the stage for the Fallout series of role-playing video games by Interplay Entertainment and Bethesda Softworks. Set in a post-apocalyptic future yet steeped in 1950s American ideals, Fallout merges historical fiction with sci-fi fantasy, exploring themes of American exceptionalism, hyper-Capitalism, anti-communism, nuclear anxiety, and militarism through exaggerated symbols of Americana. This thesis posits that Fallout serves as a critique of Cold War America's paradoxical utopianism and paranoia, highlighting the destructive consequences of unchecked militarism and technological pursuits. By treating Fallout as a kind of museum, this thesis explores how the game's layered storytelling methods, akin to museum exhibits, critique Americentric sensibilities and the ideological underpinnings of the Atomic Age. Through detailed case studies of in-game museums and exhibitions, this paper examines how Fallout developers employ historical and cultural elements to offer a satirical reflection on mid-20th century America, questioning the uncritical acceptance of progress and the myths of American exceptionalism.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Schuling, Marissa Paige"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"History, MA","degree_level":"Open Access Master's Thesis","degree_discipline":"School of Arts and Humanities","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["JoAnna Poblete"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2024-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:41:09Z","subjects":["Bethesda","Fallout","Gaming","Museum Studies","Video Game History","Video Games","History"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/924","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["JoAnna Poblete"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Schuling, Marissa Paige"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-03-18T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["School of Arts and Humanities"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Master's Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["History, MA"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Bethesda","Fallout","Gaming","Museum Studies","Video Game History","Video Games","History"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/924"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["On October 23, 2077, the world as known to the average American ends abruptly with the onset of the Great War, transforming the United States into a nuclear wasteland and setting the stage for the Fallout series of role-playing video games by Interplay Entertainment and Bethesda Softworks. Set in a post-apocalyptic future yet steeped in 1950s American ideals, Fallout merges historical fiction with sci-fi fantasy, exploring themes of American exceptionalism, hyper-Capitalism, anti-communism, nuclear anxiety, and militarism through exaggerated symbols of Americana. This thesis posits that Fallout serves as a critique of Cold War America's paradoxical utopianism and paranoia, highlighting the destructive consequences of unchecked militarism and technological pursuits. By treating Fallout as a kind of museum, this thesis explores how the game's layered storytelling methods, akin to museum exhibits, critique Americentric sensibilities and the ideological underpinnings of the Atomic Age. Through detailed case studies of in-game museums and exhibitions, this paper examines how Fallout developers employ historical and cultural elements to offer a satirical reflection on mid-20th century America, questioning the uncritical acceptance of progress and the myths of American exceptionalism.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Of Minutemen and Boomers: Fallout and Doing History in Imagined Space"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["JoAnna Poblete"],"dc:creator":["Schuling, Marissa Paige"],"dc:date.available":["2025-03-18T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["On October 23, 2077, the world as known to the average American ends abruptly with the onset of the Great War, transforming the United States into a nuclear wasteland and setting the stage for the Fallout series of role-playing video games by Interplay Entertainment and Bethesda Softworks. Set in a post-apocalyptic future yet steeped in 1950s American ideals, Fallout merges historical fiction with sci-fi fantasy, exploring themes of American exceptionalism, hyper-Capitalism, anti-communism, nuclear anxiety, and militarism through exaggerated symbols of Americana. This thesis posits that Fallout serves as a critique of Cold War America's paradoxical utopianism and paranoia, highlighting the destructive consequences of unchecked militarism and technological pursuits. By treating Fallout as a kind of museum, this thesis explores how the game's layered storytelling methods, akin to museum exhibits, critique Americentric sensibilities and the ideological underpinnings of the Atomic Age. Through detailed case studies of in-game museums and exhibitions, this paper examines how Fallout developers employ historical and cultural elements to offer a satirical reflection on mid-20th century America, questioning the uncritical acceptance of progress and the myths of American exceptionalism.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/924"],"dc:subject":["Bethesda","Fallout","Gaming","Museum Studies","Video Game History","Video Games","History"],"dc:title":["Of Minutemen and Boomers: Fallout and Doing History in Imagined Space"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["School of Arts and Humanities"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Master's Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["History, MA"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:41:09Z"}